PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Paul S. Gibson
AU  - Raymond Powrie
TI  - Anticoagulants and pregnancy: When are they safe?
AID  - 10.3949/ccjm.75a.072272
DP  - 2009 Feb 01
TA  - Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine
PG  - 113--127
VI  - 76
IP  - 2
4099  - http://www.ccjm.org/content/76/2/113.short
4100  - http://www.ccjm.org/content/76/2/113.full
SO  - Cleve Clin J Med2009 Feb 01; 76
AB  - Prescribing anticoagulants to pregnant women can be difficult and stressful. Fortunately, low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs) and unfractionated heparin are quite safe and efficacious when properly selected, dosed, and monitored. Maternal and fetal concerns must be considered at all times, with a careful assessment of the risks and benefits of anticoagulant therapy in each patient. Further research should help to clarify who should receive thromboprophylaxis, how to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with various thrombophilias, and how best to treat pregnant women who have a prosthetic heart valve.